


Yes, but No

by ImagineMystrade



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M, Force-Sensitive Finn, Misunderstandings, friendship fic, not Damerey, not Jedistormpilot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 11:08:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7974628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImagineMystrade/pseuds/ImagineMystrade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poe and Rey are the subject of some unsettling rumors around the D'Qar base - rumors that have reached Finn's ears</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot stress enough that this is a Finnrey fic. This is based on the many anons I've gotten in my Star Wars-only Tumblr that state that since Rey expressed a liking for "Poe's face" in the novelization, it follows that she must want to jump his bones. Nothing against shippers of that or OT3ers, but I had to get this out of my system. You can find people attractive without wanting them.
> 
> This is not beta'd, so sorry for any blunders. I also broke this up into chapters because it was a bit long for one go.

Poe Dameron was in his civs, ready for a relaxing night in the game room. Snap had been running his mouth about the amazing run of luck he’d been having at sabacc, and Poe was determined to end that streak. Bragging rights and a flask of Rishian gin were at stake, and besides, Blue Squadron had been kicking the hell out of Red Squadron in sabacc. Time to right those wrongs.

Poe pressed the button to exit his quarters and blinked in surprise when the door drew back to reveal Rey standing there, a small frown tugging at her lips.

“Hey, Rey.” Poe peered at her in mild concern. “Something I can do for you?”

She slowly looked up at him. “Can we talk for a minute, Poe? It’s important.”

“Uh, sure.”

Poe stepped aside to let her enter. As he watched her get comfortable in one of his chairs, he wondered what was going on. Rey sat composed, her hands in her lap, waiting politely. Poe almost thought she was meditating. Her eyes were open, but they seemed to be focused elsewhere.

Rey had changed much from the young girl he’d gotten a glimpse of when Finn had returned from his mission to rescue her on Starkiller Base. Rey had almost immediately left for Ahch-To to find Luke Skywalker after the Resistance had successfully destroyed the planet-destroying weapon, and so it was only after she’d returned with the Jedi Master that Poe had gotten to know her better. She was training intensely with Luke Skywalker. Even now she wore the traditional robes of the Jedi apprentice, her hair in a ponytail accentuated by the long single braid of the Padawan.

But when she looked directly at Poe, he thought he saw again glimpses of the young desert girl who’d exited the Millennium Falcon --  kriff, it seemed an age ago – sick with worry for the young man who had risked everything to save her.

“Rey, what’s going on? What’s wrong?”

She took a deep breath before looking at him directly.

“Poe, why does everyone on base think you and I are having sex?”

Whatever Poe had been expecting her to say, it had not been _that_.

He gulped and all but collapsed on his bed, his eyes wide with shock.

“ _What?”_

“Finn has been avoiding me,” said Rey, twisting her hands in a jittery, quite un-Jedi motion. “I thought he was just distracted with work on the Falcon, then I knew that wasn’t it, but I didn’t understand what was going on. Now I do. He thinks you and I are having sex. That we’ve been having sex for awhile.”

Poe’s head swam. It had been quite a long time since he’d had someone in his quarters discussing sex, and _that_ time, too, had been awkward, and ultimately, unfulfilling.

But this was something else again. This was _Rey_. Rey _Skywalker_. Jedi Padawan and daughter of the greatest Jedi who had ever lived.

And yet, she was serious. He could see it in her face. Still, that didn’t explain what in the name of the Maker she was talking about.

“Rey, I … uh … let me get this straight. Finn thinks _you_ and _I_ are …”

“… Having sex together. Yes.”

Poe shook his head very slowly. “ _Why_ would he think that?”

“Because other people have told him so.” She paused. “And that’s why I’m here. He believes it because other people have been _saying_ it. Why are they saying that, Poe?”

“I – I don’t know.” He ran an agitated hand over his hair. “Obviously it’s not even remotely true … wait. _What_ people? Do you know who?”

She shook her head. “Finn didn’t say. Master Luke asked, but Finn wasn’t very specific …”

Poe groaned. Now somehow Luke Skywalker thought he was boning his daughter? What in the hell was going on? He felt almost like he’d already had a few swigs of that gin he’d hoped to win.

“Okay, okay, let’s back up a little.” Poe held up his hands. “Start from the beginning. When did _you_ first hear about this? Did Finn say something to you?”

“No. That was the problem. Finn and I were spending a lot of time together.” A brief smile lit her face. “Chewie has been showing Finn how to do maintenance on the Falcon. When we were escaping from Jakku, Finn didn’t know much about freighters and how to repair them. He wanted to learn in case he’s in a similar situation. I’d been helping him, too. He’s doing so well! And he’s picking up a lot of Shriwook. I don’t have to translate Chewie’s jokes for him anymore. I’m really proud of him.”

Poe had to grin at that. Finn had been picking up a lot of things very quickly since he’d emerged from his coma and had gotten his strength. Not surprising, as he was an intelligent young man who’d managed to survive First Order indoctrination with his mind intact. He’d hoped to interest Finn in piloting, but General Organa thought he’d be best able to help the Resistance in plotting some strategic maneuvers to thwart First Order incursions

“But then it all changed last week.” Rey’s happy smile twisted into a frown. “Suddenly Finn always had to be somewhere else whenever I was around. The first couple of times it happened, I just thought it was bad timing. Then I realized it was deliberate. I asked Chewie about it and he just told me I’d have to talk to Finn. But he _wouldn’t_ talk to me. He even changed his mealtimes so that we weren’t in the canteen at the same time anymore.”

Poe frowned thoughtfully over that piece of information. Now that he thought of it, Finn had seemed to appear in the canteen at odd times lately, generally when the pilots were eating between duty shifts.

And come to think of it, Finn had lately been giving him odd looks and declining when Poe had invited him to sit and eat with the combined squadrons.

“I talked with Master Luke about it. I guess I wasn’t as focused during training and he said I needed to purge my mind of distractions,” said Rey. “So I told him I was worried Finn was angry with me, but I didn’t know what I’d done. Master Luke said that Finn might just be overwhelmed right now, and I might have been pressuring him a little too much.”

“Pressuring him? How?”

“I’ve been trying to get Finn to agree to train with Master Luke,” explained Rey. “He is _so_ strong in the Force, and I felt – I feel that he would be a great Jedi. So I’d been trying to get him to join me at training or at meditation or to just talk to my fath- … to Master Luke about the possibilities.”

Poe noticed the almost-slip of the tongue. He couldn’t even imagine what that was like for Rey. Or for Luke Skywalker, either. Poe had to admit that he had never really imagined Luke as a father type, and not just because of the whole Jedi/celibacy deal. And now Luke was training the daughter he never really knew he’d had in the ways of the Force. The universe was, indeed, often strange and terrifying.

“But Master Luke told me that Finn might not be ready – or willing – to use his abilities that way,” said Rey. “People strong in the Force have to come to their own conclusions about how they want to use their power, and Master Luke said that maybe Finn was avoiding me because he felt pressured to give me the answer I wanted to hear, but that he really didn’t want to give.”

Poe thought he could understand that. Finn had literally risked capture and execution at the hands of the First Order in order to save Rey. He could see Finn wishing to not disappoint Rey in other matters, and, perhaps, dodging her until he had made up his mind one way or the other.

“So I left it alone, even though I … missed him. Missed talking to him.” Rey’s shoulders slumped. “But today, I thought maybe I could see him for a moment, and – and apologize if it seemed as if I were pushing him. I thought maybe if Finn and I just talked about it, we’d be able to clear the air.”

“Good plan.” Poe nodded.

“But when I went to the Falcon, Chewie said Finn hadn’t been there all day.” Rey’s nose wrinkled. “It wasn’t like him – well, that’s what I _thought_ ; Chewie didn’t say that. I was worried. It wasn’t like Finn to skip out on his lesson. He wasn’t in his quarters, either. So, I went to find Master Luke to ask him what him what he thought, and as I got to the meditation spot, I heard voices – it was Master Luke and Finn, talking.”

“Talking? About what?”

“I couldn’t hear anything much at first, but I could when I got closer. I didn’t want to interrupt them, so I made sure to keep to the trees,” said Rey. “At first, I was happy. I thought Finn was finally talking to Master Luke about training as a Jedi. But when I got closer, I could hear what they were saying, and it wasn’t that at all.”

Poe felt his stomach flip. _Uh oh._

“What were they saying?”

Rey twisted her hands nervously again. “Well, Finn was asking Master Luke about confusion.”

“Confusion?”

“Right. He wanted to know if confusion – being really confused about something – could lead someone who was strong in the Force to the Dark Side.”

Poe’s eyebrows jumped. “What did … er …” He was never really sure what to call Luke Skywalker. “Master Luke” seemed to be reserved just for Padawans, “Luke” seemed too familiar, and “Mr. Skywalker” seemed … wrong somehow. He supposed, in this case, “Luke” would have to do.

“What was Luke’s answer?”

“Master Luke told him that confusion could lead to fear, and fear could lead to anger and hatred, and those _are_ emotions that can lead to the Dark Side, so a person strong in the Force should try to find the source of the confusion and confront it before it can spiral into something deeper. He then asked Finn what he was confused about.”

“And what’d he say?” asked Poe, though he had a feeling he knew what was coming next.

Rey gnawed her lip then looked at Poe.

“He said that he’d heard that you and I are in love, and his feelings about it are confused and it’s making it hard for him to concentrate on other things.”

“‘In love’? That’s what Finn said? That you and I are … ‘in love’?”

“Yes. Master Luke asked what he meant by that, and that’s when Finn mentioned …”

“Sex?”

“Sex.”

“Kriff,” said Poe beneath his breath. “Uh … what happened after that?”

“Nothing for awhile. Master Luke seemed to be having problems talking for a few minutes.”

 _I’ll bet_. _Had to be a kick in the hangers to hear about your daughter possibly getting it on with someone damn near twice her age._

“Did Finn tell Luke _who_ had told him this was happening?”

“No, he just said that he heard it all over the base,” said Rey. “He said a few pilots were talking about it and noticed him standing nearby, and then they lowered their voices and looked at him as if they were sorry for him. But he didn’t give names.”

“He might not have known who they were,” murmured Poe. “Even since he’s been under, there have been new personnel rotating in and out. What happened after that? What did Luke say to him?”

“I don’t know,” said Rey. “That’s when I … I left. To find you. I knew that we _weren’t_ in love and had never had sex and I wanted to know why Finn would think these things, and why people would say such things.”

“I don’t know why they’d do that, Rey. I’m … kriff. I’m really confused _myself_ right now,” said Poe. “Obviously, you and I have _never_ done anything remotely like … that. _”_

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Right. And anyone who knows either of us would know that.”

“Finn knows both of us,” said Rey, her voice turning sad. “And _he_ doesn’t know it.”

Poe sighed heavily. “Finn apparently is hearing this from people who he doesn’t think would have a motive to lie to him, Rey. This isn’t the First Order where they wanted to break him down. Everyone in the Resistance knows the part he played in bringing down Starkiller before it could incinerate any other star systems. He’s a hero here. People _like_ him. So there has to be something else to this.”

“But what?” Rey asked, looking pensive. “It’s not true. Why would anyone say something that isn’t true _except_ to hurt someone?”

“I-I don’t know,” admitted Poe. “I’m at a complete loss right now. I mean, this _is_ a base, and people gossip, but there has to be some substance to the gossip, you know?”

“How do you mean?”

“Since you’ve gotten back from Ahch-To, you’ve been in training with Luke. And since Finn has woken up, you’ve been either with him in Medbay, and now on the Falcon. So basically you spend your time either with Luke or with Finn and Chewie,” said Poe. “You and I barely cross paths anymore. That’s not exactly the foundation for juicy rumors that we’re rutting like two loth-cats in heat.”

Rey nodded. “That’s a good point.”

“I mean, even now … this is the first time we’ve been alone together in months,” said Poe. “Not since the …”

He halted abruptly and his face went bright pink as a thought occurred to him. Poe’s mouth fell open.

“Oh _kriff_.”


	2. Chapter 2

“‘Oh kriff’?” Rey’s eyes were wide. “That’s … not good. What is it, Poe?”

Poe’s mouth worked soundlessly for a few seconds. “ _Oh kriffing hell!”_

“Poe. Please … can you tell me what’s wrong?” Rey’s Jedi-like composure was evident in her voice, but not in her hands, which were digging into the cushion of the chair. “What’s happened?”

“I …” Poe scrubbed his hands over his face. “I think I know what happened and how this all got started.”

He raised bleak eyes to Rey’s face. “I’m so sorry. If I’m right, this is all my fault.”

“What do you mean by that? You didn’t tell anyone that we …”

“No! No of course not.” Poe swallowed thickly. “Uh … do you remember the night Finn woke up?”

“Of course.” Rey’s eyes shone at the memory. “But what does that have to do with this?”

“Everything, maybe.” Poe held his head in his hands. “We were all in the canteen, eating dinner, remember?”

In the aftermath of the destruction of Starkiller Base, the remnants of the Galactic Senate had sent  all the flyers it could as reinforcements. Poe had to organize training for these new recruits, and it had seemed like the best plan to try to treat these new fighters as if they’d been part of the Resistance for ages. As a result, Poe and some of the other squadron leaders, had organized dinner where all squadrons would come, sit and eat – like one big, happy family.

During that time, Jessika Pava had noticed that Rey seemed to eat her meals either in medbay at Finn’s side, or on occasion, aboard the Falcon. Finn was still in a coma then, with no timetable as to when – or if – he’d wake up, and Jess had appealed to Poe to invite Rey to at least take meals with them to take her mind off her grueling training with Luke Skywalker and Finn’s predicament.

“Yes,” said Rey. “I remember. There was crab rotoven that night. I was thinking that the first time I’d tasted it was on Takadona at Maz Kanata’s … with Finn.”

Poe smiled sadly. Rey’s whole face changed whenever she talked about Finn. She was obviously gone for him, and Poe knew he’d never forgive himself if, through his carelessness, he prevented the two of them from being together.

“Right. That night. Well, we were all talking and you suddenly stopped eating and said you needed to see Finn,” said Poe. “And you rushed away without saying anything else …”

“I could feel him waking up. Through the Force,” said Rey, almost apologetically. “I was sure of it, but I didn’t want to tell anyone, in case I was mistaken. And … I just wanted to be there when he opened his eyes. I – I promised him.”

Poe nodded. “Well, when you left so quickly, a few people from some of the new squadrons asked what it was all about, and Snap mentioned what happened on Starkiller Base and Finn getting injured there. Someone – I honestly forget who – said that maybe it would be better for you to let the med droids do their work so that when he came out of the coma, he’d be told immediately about his status and what was going to happen next. That didn’t sit well with me – implying that you caring about Finn was getting in the way somehow. And so _I_ said …”

There was a pause. Rey leaned forward.

“Yes? You said?”

“I _said_ that if I were Finn, and had the choice of waking up to a beautiful woman or to a droid wanting to stick a thermometer Maker-knows-where, I know what choice _I’d_ make.”

Poe closed his eyes and waited for the Force-choke. Or maybe his transgression didn’t rise to _that_ level of violence. Maybe a Force-slap?

But nothing of the sort came. He cracked one eye open and saw Rey still regarding him with that same wary, watchful look.

“And?”

Poe opened both his eyes then. Her voice betrayed nothing, no anger, no outrage, no embarrassment. He wondered if she just wanted to hear the rest of the story to see what sort of response was necessary.

“And then, about an hour later, Dr. Kalonia announced that Finn had woken up from the coma,” said Poe. “I rushed to medbay as soon as I could, and I saw you, and General Organa, and Luke Skywalker … and Chewie, and a few others. But mainly you – and Finn, of course. You were holding each other’s hands.”

Rey blushed. “Yes, it’s … it’s a thing. A thing we do. It’s nice.”

“It was cute.” Poe grinned. “You both were so kriffing adorable. Anyway, after that, you and I started planning Finn’s ‘welcome back to consciousness, here’s what you missed’ party.”

“Right.”

“The two of us.” Poe gave her a _look._ “Alone. Sometimes for hours.”

“Yes?”

Poe was puzzled at Rey’s expectant look. Jessika Pava had told him once that just because Rey had grown up isolated, it didn’t mean that she was unwise in the ways of the galaxy. Jess hadn’t been talking about Rey’s abilities with the Force, either. Poe understood that people who assumed Rey was some naïve girl were on a wrong tack, but she seemed not to be picking up on what he was implying, which, frankly, was unexpected.

“I told a roomful of people that I considered you to be beautiful,” said Poe. “And almost immediately after this, we’re seen constantly together, mostly in one of our bedrooms.”

“Yes … planning Finn’s party.”

“Right. _You_ know that. _I_ know that. But people might have thought … I dunno … that I’d gone to you and professed my love and you professed yours, and …”

“Sex?”

“Sex,” he answered grimly.

There was a tidy silence for a few seconds. Rey pulled at her braid, her forehead creased in concentration.

“I don’t understand. Why would you thinking I’m beautiful mean that you wanted sex with me?”

Poe looked at her in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been called beautiful before,” said Rey, shrugging. “Unkar Plutt thought I was.”

“The junk guy on Jakku?” Poe’s eyes widened. “He _said_ that?”

“Yes. He said that most scavengers looked like desiccated bantha hide to him,” said Rey. “Even those that aren’t very old. But that I was probably the prettiest scavenger he’d seen since becoming Junkboss. But that didn’t mean anything. I didn’t get extra portions. When I was sick and couldn’t scavenge, Unkar Plutt thinking that I was beautiful didn’t make food and water materialize. It was just his thought, and it didn’t benefit me at all. It meant nothing.”

“Not to take you too much back in the memory of your time with Plutt,” said Poe, “but he’s a Crolute. He has a sense of aesthetics, I guess, but, ah, only Gilliands really get Crolutes going … in a romantic way. Humans are different.”

Rey was silent for a moment.

“The Stormtrooper guarding me while Kylo Ren was interrogating me was human,” she said softly. “When I got him to free me, I was able to use the Force to look into his mind, the way I’d done with Kylo Ren. It was only for an instant. But he was thinking that hoped Kylo Ren didn’t damage me too badly, because it would be a shame to see such a pretty face bloodied and bruised. I was able to use the Force to escape, but if I hadn’t, that Stormtrooper would have stood there and let Kylo Ren do whatever he chose. If my face had been bloodied and bruised, that Stormtrooper would have watched it happen. His thinking I was pretty wouldn’t have kept me from that.”

Poe couldn’t talk for a moment as he was thrust back in time to his own torture and interrogation at the hands of Kylo Ren. He knew the terror and pain Rey must have felt, though dimly he was aware that no Stormtrooper seemed too broken up about his rough treatment.

Then he nearly cursed himself. That was not true. _One_ Stormtrooper had, indeed, been upset about it.

“Rey, I …” Poe nodded. “I understand. And you’re right. The simple fact of my thinking you’re a beautiful woman doesn’t mean that I’d want something romantic with you, any more than it would mean that _you’d_ want something romantic with _me_ if you found me to be attractive.”

“I _do_ think you’re handsome, Poe.”

Poe’s eyes swung toward her. “Really?”

“Yes. You have a very nice face.”

He smiled. “Yeah? Wow … that’s really …”

“But you’re right. I don’t want anything romantic with you.”

He chuckled, feeling his ego deflate just a tad.

“Oh. Well … right. There you go.”

“And Jessika. She’s _gorgeous_. But I don’t want anything romantic with _her,_ either.”

Poe thought that Jess would likely be very disappointed to hear that, but such was life.

“There are so many people I’ve seen – on Jakku, and now in other places I’ve been,” said Rey, “that I’ve thought were attractive. But that was it. There wasn’t anything more to it than that.”

Poe grinned at her. “And Finn? You think he’s handsome, too?”

A deep-red blush stained her cheeks.

“I think Finn … is _beautiful_.”

Poe looked fondly at Rey as she attempted to pull herself together. "And I know he thinks the same about you.”

She looked at him with wondering eyes. “Do you … really think so?”

“No doubt.” Poe sighed. “Look – about this thing with you and me and the rumors. You’re right. Just finding someone attractive doesn’t mean that you want to drag them into the nearest supply closet. I’m just saying that people who don’t know me – or you – took a set of unrelated circumstances and _thought_ it meant something that it didn’t. It wasn’t a malicious move against me, you, or Finn. Just a misunderstanding. And that’s the good news! Misunderstandings can be fixed! They can be explained. We just go to Finn, explain what happened, and things should be fine.”

“Really?” Hope lit Rey’s face. “Do you think he’ll listen?”

“I _know_ so.” Poe stood up. “I’ll bet Finn’s back on the Falcon by now. What do you say we swing by, take him to the canteen, and talk about this over some space waffles and muja ice cream? Get things all sorted out.”

“That’s a _great_ idea,” said Rey, following Poe to the door. “Finn adores anything with muja in it. He says he could probably drink muja sauce straight out of the tin!”

Poe was going to comment that such a thing would be inadvisable. He’d done it once as a child on Yavin 4 and had paid the price for it for days after.

But he found he could say nothing when he opened the door and found Finn on the other side, poised to press the chime.


	3. Chapter 3

The three of them stood looking at each other in shocked silence. Finn came out of it first, his eyes darting from Rey to Poe and back again.

“Uhm, sorry. I’ll, uh, come back later.”

Finn was half down the corridor before Poe thought to move. But Rey had gotten ahead of him, running after Finn and calling to him.

“Finn – Finn, wait! It’s not … it’s not what you think!” Rey sounded frantic. “Poe and I were talking – we weren’t having sex!”

Poe winced. Well, at least the corridor had been empty.

And the words, as … _interesting_ as they were, _did_ have the welcome effect of stopping Finn in his tracks.

Finn turned slowly around and gawked at Rey.

“You … um …”

“We weren’t.” Rey reached out a hand to him. “I swear by the Force, Finn. I know what you’re thinking … it’s a mistake. It never happened.”

Finn’s mouthed curved downward and he looked over Rey’s shoulder at Poe. Poe grinned and gestured for him to return.

“C’mon, buddy. We have a lot to talk about.”

Finn looked at Rey again, who gave him an encouraging nod.

“Uh, okay. If you’re sure I’m not … interrupting anything?”

Rey took him by the hand to guide him into Poe’s quarters. As they walked in, Poe saw some movement at the end of the hallway and spotted a few Blue Squadron members peering in his direction. He gave a thumbs up, hoping that they weren’t stopping to chit-chat, and he ducked into his room, glad that they hadn’t been in the hallway just a few moments before.

Finn sat on the bed and "the talk" began. He said nothing as Poe and Rey alternately spoke – sometimes over each other, but mainly filling in the bits of the story that the other had missed. He gave them his complete attention, never interrupting, even during the sparse, brief lulls in the conversation, and he sat much as Rey had, completely composed, his hands in his lap.

“ … And so that’s it in a nutshell, buddy,” said Poe, wrapping up the story. “Just a misunderstanding. The sort of stuff that goes on in this place all the time.”

Finn nodded. “Yeah, you had some of that in the First Order, too. But mainly about who was scheduled for reconditioning and people who had ‘disappeared’ after training missions.”

“Uh, yeah.” Poe cleared his throat. “The gossip around here is a lot less … kriffing insane than that, but same general principle.”

“So there was never anything going on between the two of you?”

Rey and Poe shook their heads. Finn looked contemplative.

“That’s so strange. People seemed so _sure_.”

“Some people see what they want to see,” said Poe. “You always could’ve just _asked_ me or Rey.”

Finn looked startled. “Ask you? Ask you what?”

“What, if anything, was going on between us,” Poe said. “We could’ve cleared this up way before now. Did you think we might not tell you the truth?”

“We wouldn’t lie to you, Finn,” said Rey softly, touching Finn’s knee.

Poe had noticed that Rey had been doing a lot of incidental touching between Finn and Rey. They were sitting side by side on his bed, and there had been casual elbow brushes, knees pressed together, hands skimming over each other, and so on.

“Right, but … why would I do that?” asked Finn wonderingly. “It’s not really any of my business. If you wanted to talk to me about it, that’s different, but I think it might … rude …? to just ask.”

Poe and Rey stared at each other dumbfounded for a moment.

“Finn, you were … not happy about things when you thought Poe and I were …” Rey made a discreet motion with her hand. “I … I heard you with Master Luke today. I was upset that you were avoiding me. I thought I was pushing you away by pressing you to train with me. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I wanted to know what was wrong. I heard you ask Master Luke about confusion, and your feelings. You said you had heard Poe and I were romantically involved and were confused about what you felt.”

“Oh. I thought there was someone else around.” Finn sounded amused. “You were wearing the meditation slippers, weren’t you?”

Rey blushed. “What? They’re comfortable!”

“How long were you listening to me and Master Luke?”

“I … a few minutes?” Rey glanced at Poe. “When I heard what you said about hearing that Poe and I had fallen in love and had been having sex, I knew I needed to talk to him because that wasn’t true.”

Finn nodded. “Okay, so you didn’t hear what Master Luke told me afterward?”

“No, but, Finn, I don’t understand,” said Rey. “If I do something that hurts you, of course it’s your business.”

“Absolutely. Not that Rey or I would do something to hurt you on purpose,” said Poe, “but you have every right to want answers if there’s something going on that isn’t quite right.”

“But what is that here?” asked Finn, looking from Poe to Rey. “That you two had fallen in love while I was … sleeping?”

Rey and Poe looked at each other again.

“Well …”

“Yes …?”

“No,” said Finn, shaking his head. “That’s not … that’s not fair. To either of you. Look, I’m not going to say I’d be _thrilled_ about it happening. But if it did, then that’s because you both made a choice that both of you had every right to make.”

“Finn …”

“Wait, let me … let me finish,” said Finn. “I think there was more than just one misunderstanding here. I wasn’t confused about the two of you. From the moment I woke up, I heard whispers around the base that you guys had gotten close ever since Rey came back with Master Luke from Ahch-To. It was pretty obvious what that meant. And yeah, at first I felt like someone had hit me in the stomach with a blaster. But I understood that it wasn’t about me.

“Rey,” Finn said, turning to her, “One of the things I understand about the First Order is that they saw people as possessions. As _things_. Things that could be moved around or put aside or forced to do something without any choice at all. That’s not … that’s not how I see things, how I see us. How I see _you_. You’re your own person, Rey. I had made up my mind to tell you exactly how I felt about you if we made it off Starkiller Base alive. Well, Kylo Ren kind of pushed the timetable back on that. But we hadn’t made any commitments to each other. You weren’t my girlfriend. We weren’t … _together_. You were free to choose anyone – or no one. And if you chose Poe, and not me, that would have been _your_ choice, and there would’ve been nothing about it for me to ask you about – I don’t own you.”

Rey brushed away a tear. “Finn, I don’t understand. You’ve barely looked at me. You’ve avoided me. And when I heard you talking to Master Luke, I thought it was because you were angry at the thought of Poe and I being with each other.”

Finn shook his head. “I was confused because people seem to want me to be _really_ angry about that. Like I’m going to hurt someone. Go back to Stormtrooper tactics, or something.”

Poe’s eyes dimmed. “Who said that? Who even had the kriffing nerve to _imply_ …”

Finn hesitated a moment. “That one guy. I think he’s gone now. He was flying with Kare Kun’s squadron. Shaggy, red hair. From Coruscant?”

“Tel Recher.”

Poe almost spat the name. He should’ve known. Recher was a serviceable pilot, and, like Poe, a defector from the New Republic Starfleet, but he was a spoiled arse used to the plush accommodations on Coruscant. He’d treated the D’Qar base like a backwater, never hiding his contempt for the bare-bones way in which the Resistance operated. Poe had been relieved when he was rotated out even though Kare said he’d been a fairly good wing man during aerial assault training.

“What did Recher say?”

“I was going to the Falcon one day and he asked me if I knew where he could find a spare astromech droid to look at his X-Wing,” said Finn. “I told him that most of them were refitting some of the fighters that got sent down by the new Senate but that if he wanted, I could ask you if you could spare BB-8 for a little while. He got this weird look on his face and said, ‘Wait, you still talk to Dameron? Why?’ When I asked him what he meant by that, he said, ‘I don’t know, but if I’d spent three months in a coma and woke up to find my friend had stolen my girlfriend, he wouldn’t be all buddy-buddy with him afterwards.’”

“Kriffing asshole,” mumbled Poe. He could tell by Rey’s cloudy expression that while she may not have gotten as closely acquainted with Recher as he had, the feeling was mutual.

“I ignored him, because I knew he hadn’t been around before Starkiller and probably just heard bits and pieces of some of the rumors going around,” said Finn. “But later, I saw Ula Berso and Fara Trev. They were on the Falcon trying to download some old stellar cartography maps.”

Poe’s stomach knotted. Berso and Trev were also in the Stiletto Squadron and he considered them both to be friends.

“We were talking, and I mentioned what Recher said, because it was so weird,” said Finn. “I knew they’d been training with him so I figured they’d be able to tell me if he was joking or just had some weird sense of humor or something. But they got these strange looks on their faces, and Fara said, ‘Yeah, we were wondering about that. Dameron’s a decent guy, maybe he didn’t mean for it to happen, but it’s still pretty kriffed up. Aren’t you angry?’ And then Ula taked about some holovid he once saw where a woman was in a coma and her husband and her sister visited her bedside every day, and then fell in love with each other. When the woman woke up and found out, she slapped her husband, but it turned out okay I guess in the end because the husband found out she was about to leave him for a freighter captain so he went to live with the sister.”

“That sounds like a really _bad_ holovideo.”

“Ula said it was even worse than the Twi’lek exercise holovid that Chewie likes to watch sometimes. But he said he wouldn’t have been surprised if I wanted to do something like that to you, and that a few pilots had private bets on whether I’d challenge you,” said Finn looking at Poe. “But he said the same thing as Fara, that you probably didn’t mean for anything to happen, it just … did. And that’s when I realized that people expected me to be _angry_ about it.”

A note of wonder had stolen into his voice. “I was … disappointed, sure, when I heard people say that the two of you had gotten together. And maybe a little hurt. But angry? No. I couldn’t figure out why people thought I’d be upset enough to _hit_ you, Poe. I didn’t know that Recher guy that well, but Ula and Fara are good people. I didn’t get why they’d think I’d be _violent_. And then I thought … well … _should_ I be angry? Am I missing something? Did being in the First Order strip something out of me – something normal and human – and that’s why people are looking at me strangely and saying the things they were saying?”

Finn went quiet for a moment. “And that’s when I decided to talk to Master Luke. You only heard part of the conversation, Rey. You didn’t hear what he said after I told him everything.”


	4. Chapter 4

Rey appeared to contemplate that for a second or two. “What did he say?”

Finn was looking at Rey. “He said that when you two were on Ahch-To, he could feel that part of you was somewhere else, and not completely focused on training. He said you told him about me, and that I was hurt and you were worried, but you knew you’d see me again. He said that was the first time he started wondering whether I might be strong in the Force, because, well, he could feel me through you, Rey. I mean, he could _see_ me through you, and he said that a bond like that was usually only forged between people who were Force-sensitive, or through people who were related – or both. And he knew we weren’t related.” A small smile lit his face. “He said that when you weren’t training or meditating, you were talking about me. How we got off Jakku, how you saved me from the Rathtars, what happened on Starkiller Base. He said he almost couldn’t wait to get back to D’Qar and meet the ‘Famous Finn.’”

Rey ducked her head and smiled sheepishly. “I guess I _did_ mention you a lot.”

Finn looked at Poe. “And then Master Luke said when he got back to D’Qar, he could feel the Force running through me, even though I hadn’t woken up yet. He found out even more about me, from you. He said you told him about how we escaped _to_ Jakku and got away from the First Order, and how I completed your mission by bringing BB-8 to D’Qar, and that you even suggested my name to me. You were my first friend, Poe.”

Poe smiled softly, buffeted by the memories. “In a lot of ways, so were you, buddy.”

Finn smiled back but then grew serious again. “Master Luke said that it was obvious that you both meant a lot to me, and that caring about people meant supporting them in the paths they choose, even if those paths take them away from you. He said that even if I _was_ angry … angry about the circumstances, about the bad luck, about whatever … that the fact was, my first impulse was to try to understand my feelings and not lash out at either of you. He said that, there, was _proof_ not only that I am human, but that I’m … rooted in the Force. The Light side of the Force.”

“Oh, Finn!” Rey’s eyes were wide. “Did you really ever doubt that?”

“Well, not really. I’ve seen the Dark Side.” He smirked. “Nice uniforms, but that’s about it. But I hadn’t really thought about it in that way until Master Luke talked to me. He said people will always think they know how someone _else_ should react to something. But that as long as I understand that those are other people’s thoughts and they don’t have anything to do with me, I’d be all right. And he said the same thing you did Poe – it’s a base. People’ll gossip. And then he said with that in mind, it would probably be a good idea if I actually _talked_ to you two and see if the gossip was true.”

“That’s what I meant earlier, Finn, about coming to us,” said Poe. “Then Rey and I could’ve just told you it was all a load of bantha shite.”

“Yeah, it’s just that I heard it _everywhere_ ,” said Finn with a thoughtful frown. “One or two people saying it would have been one thing, but it seemed like it was the whole base.”

“Oh, that’s easy to explain,” said Rey. “Poe told a roomful of people that he thought I was beautiful, and the rumors started from there.”

Poe colored when Finn looked over at him, quizzically. “Uh, yeah, about that …”

“That’s it?” Finn sounded incredulous. “Rey, pretty much everybody _here_ thinks you’re beautiful!”

Rey dipped her head, smiling. “Not _everybody_ , Finn.”

He shrugged. “Damn near.”

“Right, but, uh, Rey and I were alone a lot  when we were planning the party we had out in the hangar when you were officially cleared to leave Medbay.”

“Are you serious?” Finn’s eyes were huge. “The way people were talking, it was like they saw the two of you making out in the middle of the rec room! If that’s all it takes for people to start thinking someone’s hooked up with someone else, then I’m surprised there isn’t something going around about me and Chewie!”

“Not that you’re not a great catch, Finn, but Chewie tends to like ‘em a smidge taller,” Poe said with a smirk.

“I can’t believe it. Now I really _do_ feel dumb.” Finn shook his head. “Just thinking someone’s beautiful doesn’t mean you want to … _you know_. I mean, Rey _is_ beautiful. And Poe, you’re pretty kriffing hot, too.”

Poe found himself blushing again. “Yeah … back atcha, buddy.”

“Yes, Poe _is_ very handsome,” said Rey, “but even though _you_ think so, that doesn’t mean that you would fall in love with him because of that alone, right?”

Finn gave Poe a sad smile. “Sorry, Poe.”

Poe grinned again. “It’s all right. I’ll live.”

“But it’s different with you, Rey. I think you’re beautiful,” said Finn, turning to face Rey. “And … more than that. A lot more.”

Rey took a deep breath. “I think _you’re_ beautiful, too, Finn. And more than that. A lot more.” She paused. “I think I felt it ever since I first saw you.”

“Uh … you hit me upside my head when you first saw me.”

Rey laughed and nudged him playfully. “Okay, fine, _shortly_ after I first saw you!”

Finn laughed, too, and they pressed their foreheads together, eyes shut tight and being so cute and adorable that Poe could have screamed. As it was, a lump the size of a Corellian apple was in his throat and he wondered if this was how his parents had looked when they’d first realized they were in love.

Finn was smiling muzzily at Rey as they rose, almost in unison.. “Do you want to go to the canteen? They have space waffles …”

“… and muja ice cream! I know!” Rey squeezed Finn’s hand. “Poe and I were going to invite you there to talk about … things.”

“Oh, yeah?” Finn looked at Poe. “Let’s go, then.”

“Uh, you two go ahead,” said Poe. “Now that everything’s gotten straightened out, I should probably work on some of the plans for the new training simulations. We’re getting a new crop of people in a few days and General Organa says the timetable is gonna be tight.”

Finn looked doubtful. “Are you sure? Just a quick scoop? I’ve got to be up earlier than usual tomorrow anyway.”

“Why?” Rey looked disappointed. “Is Chewie punishing you for taking off to talk to Master Luke?”

“Nah, nothing like that. But Master Luke said meditation hour begins right before daybreak, so I need to be sure I get enough rest.”

Rey’s eyes went huge. “Meditation hour? But that’s …”

She broke off with a disbelieving stare, her hand to her mouth.

“You … you’ve called him ‘Master Luke,’” she said at last, her eyes still wide. “All this time. And I didn’t notice until just now.”

Poe hid a grin. _He_ had, and he was glad he hadn’t said anything. Seeing the look of awe and delight on Rey’s face was worth it.

“I know what path I want to take,” said Finn. “Probably, I’ve always known. Just like I think … I always knew I was meant to be with you.”

“Oh Finn!” Tears slipped down Rey’s cheeks and she threw her arms around him in a huge hug.

Poe cleared his throat discreetly when the hug seemed to last for probably a little longer than it needed to with an audience.

“All right, you crazy kids. They won’t keep the canteen open all night.” His voice was teasingly affectionate.

“He’s right,” said Finn. “We’d better go before they run out of the muja sauce they put on top. Thanks, Poe!”

“Thank you, Poe,” said Rey, giving him a radiant smile. “For everything.”

They rushed out of Poe’s quarters hand in hand, laughing and chattering happily about sparring practice and ‘Master Luke’s’ training regimen. Poe grinned to himself as he heard the voices fade away. He felt good about things. In another lifetime, or another universe, maybe things could have been different in any number of ways, but he was happy that he’d witnessed the beginning of something wonderful. If any two people in the galaxy deserved that, it was Finn and Rey.

He sighed and sat back on his bed. He’d already prepared those training lessons and his mind and heart weren’t really into a long night at the gaming table. Calling to BB-8, who had been in sleep mode during the visit, Poe prepared to download an album of pictures from Yavin 4, pausing for a long time at a photo of his father and mother. Kes Dameron had his hand on Shara Bey’s rounded belly, and they were smiling at each other in delight. Poe briefly wondered what it would be like to love and be loved in return that way, sure that if it was his fate to experience something like that, he’d find it somewhere out in the universe … someday.

But for now, he could be happy for his friends, and be content in the knowledge that very soon, at least the rumors about him and Rey would end.

* * *

 

The whispers grew softer when Snap Wexley glanced his chronometer and then, with a shrug, beckoned to someone on the edge of the crowd.

“Snap was supposed to play Dameron tonight, I thought?”

“Hadn’t you heard? Gyre and Selyt saw Dameron with Rey Skywalker _and_ Finn. They were _both_ going into his quarters!”

“What? You mean …”

“Yes! Gyre said Dameron looked happy as a brezak at the Zygerrian royal court. Even gave a thumbs-up.”

“Lucky kriffer! Pulling two of the best-looking people on the base? First Rey, now _Finn_ , too?”

“And they both can use the Force, right? Can you _imagine_ what sex is like when you have two Force-sensitive partners?”

“What’s Dameron got that _I_ don’t have?”

“A bigger joystick, probably.”

There was hushed laughter as the game began. Unseen by the whispering crowd, however, were Finn and Rey as they walked toward the canteen.

“What do you think they’re laughing about?" Rey peered into the room. "The game just started.”

“Who knows?” Finn said with a nonchalant shrug. “Whatever it is, we’ll probably never hear about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I value your feedback! And please do not think I hate Poe. Far from it. Thank you for reading!


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